No Sister Act

My sister Tet called today (Oct. 20) to inform me that the
Manila Language School is requesting that our tutorial lessons in Mandarin
be moved to November 6, from October 23.
My sister was quite frustrated because it would mean that we
would finish our lessons by early February instead of the first week of
January. Her husband is expecting her to be in Singapore not later than
the the third week of January.
And I learned all these just now. I feel quite sad...
I know that my sister will be leaving for Singapore, to join her husband
there, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. I thought that she'd leave
by March at least.
Although we don't always agree on many things, my younger sister
and I have always been close. Weekends are usually spent sightseeing,
dining, and going to different malls with our mother. A day will not pass
that she will not call me at the office or I, her. At home, we just talk
about anything.
I am already missing her.

Update: Learning Mandarin

F4 Fever might have cooled down in Manila after the regular airing of Meteor Garden but Chinovela or Chinese TV soaps are still popular.

Unlike most fans who limited themselves with memorizing Chinese lyrics and phrases like Wo Ai Ni (I Love You), I decided to learn Mandarin.

This Saturday, my sister Tet and I enrolled for a three-hour, 10-session Mandarin lessons at the Manila Language School. Each of us paid Php 3,700. But we were informed that the fee would be Php 3,175 if there were six students enrolled.

I guess that it's quite reasonably priced. My officemate is currently taking Mandarin at Chiang Kai Shek College and she paid Php 6,000 for 15 sessions. And it was the cheapest that we could find last July.

My officemate's tutor at Chiang Kai Shek College is from mainland China. At Manila Language School, we were told that the teacher would be Chinese- Filipino. I made it a point to know because it's important that the teacher would be a native speaker. The Foreign Service Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs only hires native speakers for its language courses for our diplomats and Foreign Service Officers.

If anyone else is interested in enrolling in the 5:30-8:30pm Mandarin lessons at MLS, which will start on October 23, the number is 524-5937.

> Sum of All Fears

Oct. 7, 2004

God is greater than the sum of all my fears. 

This is my litany whenever I feel afraid. 

And today, I woke up feeling apprehensive. 

I dreamed that I was in Baguio City for a seminar.  I saw Baguio Cathedral on our way to Session Road or downtown.  I remembered wanting to stop so I could buy my current favorite snack - Mikasan Choco Flakes. But since we were quite rushing, I thought that I would just come back later.  Back in the house (...quite weird since I was in Baguio instead of Manila), I remember that I asked my sister to hurry up so we could catch the mass at Baguio Cathedral and I proposed that we go home the following day rather than that day so we could go sightseeing.

In another dream, I was in a seminary or a convent that was as old as the churches seen in Intramuros.  I couldn't remember what I returned to a nun inside a cubicle and whose face I shouldn't see or else, something bad will happen to me.  I remember walking along its cold walls.  And I remember wishing that I had brought my camera with me.

My dreams were not particularly frightening but I can't help feeling that these were foreboding of bad things. 

This evening, my mother showed me that 6 out of the 11 carps which I bought just last Sept 18 died today for no apparent reason.  There is a belief here that when pets die, they are actually saving the owner from worse tidings.

But whatever lies ahead, there's nothing I can do but face it and pray for God's guidance in every step I take.  Fear could not conquer me because God is with me and He is greater than the sum of all my fears. 

Create Waves and Make a Difference

Oct. 7, 2004

Life has given us many lessons and mentors.  Some are easily forgotten and some, take roots in our hearts and change our lives.

One unforgettable character in my life was my humanities teacher.  She told our class to create waves and make a difference because we were from the University of the Philippines.

I will always be proud of my alma mater and grateful that it has nurtured me.  But I know now that making a difference is not the prerogative of a select group.  I believe that making a difference should be every person's goal. 

In our lives, we come in contact with so many people.  Knowingly or unknowingly, we leave our prints and marks on them as they do to us.  We leave our bakas. 

I want my bakas to have done well to others.  After all, a life well-lived is a life that has touched as many lives as possible.